We Were Stronger
by AsherAnd Archive
Summary: What happens when the clans die off and there are only a handful of warriors left to continue their way of life? They don't just lie down and take like a bunch off Kittypets. No. They were too strong for that.


We are the Last.

The last of what,you might ask.

We are the last of the Hunters,the Last of the Fighters,the Last of the Dreamers.

We are the Last Warriors.

Even Starclan has left us alone.

The forest where our clans once thrived is barren,desolate. Greenleaf kept returning later and later every year until there was nothing but Leafbare left. Who am I? I am simply a whisper in the night. One of the two last Riverclan warriors.

Nightwhisper stalked through the coarse,long grass and scented the air. The she-cat hissed. Still nothing. She hadn't so much as gotten a whiff of carrion in the past week,and it was showing. Her pelt was limp and thin,her ribs showing through easily; Her eyes held the mad look of a starving cat who would have ripped off her own ear and ate it if she had to. She was one of the last warriors. Her and her brother were all that remained of the once great River clan since the other four from their litter had starved,died in battle,and been killed by the monsters of the Thunderpath.

The She-cat let out an angry hiss and turned,her short tail flicking angrily side-to-side. "Silverwolf!" She called. "Where are you?" He yowled back in response,his footfalls becoming evident in the otherwise silent field. "Here." His voice was muffled. He must have caught something. She bounded toward him,using up energy she should have saved for a hunt. In her brother's mouth was a mouse. At least,she thought it was a mouse,it was so torn and muddy it was hard to tell. "I found it by the lake. It must have gotten attacked by a hawk,since it was already dying when I killed it." Nightwhisper shook her head. "It doesn't matter as long as it's food." She said,her eyes glazed over in hunger. Silverwolf merely nodded and dropped it. "I already ate my half." The warrior tore into the kill with such ferocity that her partner took a half-step backwards. "Don't hurt yourself..."

"I'm only starving,is all." She snapped,licking blood off her muzzle. With an eye roll and huff the male turned away and stalked back through the reeds without waiting for his sister to follow.

"By the way,Thunderclan invited us to the gathering." Nightwhisper paused and looked up,her eyes narrowed.

"How is that possible?"

"One of their warriors caught me while I was out hunting and told me to come."

"Hm...Should we go? What if it's a trap,and their trying to eliminate the last of us? What then?"

"You're too suspicious. This is Thunderclan. Most of their warriors are kittypets anyway." The female nodded but was still wary. She didn't know if the other clans had found out that Riverclan,the most vain of the cats,with their cold,glittering eyes,had to face a single horrible truth: They were all going to die. With the death of the last warrior other than themselves, siblings had come to the harsh reality of elimination. They had refused to recruit any kittypets, No, They left that to the weak Thunderclan leader in the forest territory.

"Fine." She growled,cleaning the last of the mess off her face. "We'll go."

Night came quickly as it so often did during the harsher months. Silverwolf and Nightwhisper slunk through the brittle reeds and across the frozen surface of the lake toward the Island that sat in the middle of it. It was nearly silent as they approached,and the She-cat let her claws slide out.

"Would you stop it? No one's going to attack us while a full moon is still up." Silverwolf said,bumping his sister with his shoulder. "Starclan wouldn't approve."

"Starclan is dead." She hissed,walking faster to get away from him. "Besides that,I can't hear a sound. This must be a trap." The Tom merely 'Hmph'ed and trailed behind her. He honestly didn't care if he was the only cat left in the Forest who believed in Starclan,he'd stick to the code and follow them,even to his death.

They stepped onto land and he sniffed the air. There were definitely cats here,but where? "Hello?" He called,trotting toward the clearing. There were a few shuffles and some Shushing, but soon everything grew quiet again. "Hello?" Nightwhisper shoved past her brother.

"This is getting ridiculous!" She shouted,jumping into the clearing,the fur on her back raised. What met her eyes not only surprised her,but caused her to stumble backward in confusion. "Wh...What?" There was only one cat on Highrock, a white tom with Tortoiseshell-like markings and smaller black dots all over him. From what she knew,this was Turtlestar of Thunderclan. Only Three warriors and four apprentices sat on the ground,staring at the Riverclan warriors like they had Blackcough. "Where is the rest of your clan?" She demanded. "Where are the others?"

"Welcome,Riverclan." Turtlestar replied,calmly. "These are the others. This is what is left of the four great clans." He sighed,jumping down from his elevated position. "No sense in me acting like I'm your leader when my own clan has only Three warriors left." Silverwolf looked around the clearing. If what the Thunderclan leader was saying was true then... There was Windclan sitting toward the back,only it's medicine cat,Mudpelt and one apprentice left. Thunderclan was up at the front,A small orange She-cat and a massive brown tabby tom were flanking a darkly colored Apprentice who was doing her best to look proud and noble. Shadowclan...Oh. Shadowclan... Leafbare had not been kind to them. Not in the least. Two apprentices huddled together,One older Black and gray cat sheltering the younger one from the cold. The small kit couldn't have been more than five moons old,but he had come. How were they surviving? Who was hunting for them? They couldn't have gotten very many lessons before they were left alone.

"You see the destruction this Leafbare has caused. We are dwindling in numbers quickly. No kittypet or rouge who happens upon us will join our ranks once he sees that we cannot even feed ourselves-"

"No one wants kittypets anyway." The older Shadowclan Apprentice growled. "They're weak and selfish." The orange she-cat whirled around. "You would do well to remember that one of the greatest cats this forest has ever seen was a kittypet. He's also the reason your clan is still around."

"Flameheart! Sit down,we are not here to fight." Grudgingly,she settled down and looked at her paws.

Turtlestar shook his head and continued speaking.

"I'm sure you all have noticed the decrease in prey I our respective territories. It won't pass. The prey is dying off,just like we are. For this reason.-" He looked around and exhaled. "We must combine the clans." Nightwhisper's hackles rose.

"I knew it! You dragged us all here just to make us join your pathetic clan. Please,do we look like a group of mindless kittypets?"

"No. What you look like is two Riverclan warriors who will be unable to sustain their clan's legacy because they are too obsessed with status to think about saving themselves." The large Thunderclan tom growled. The She-cat walked slowly toward him.

"I don't want to become one of Thunderclan's thoughtless slaves."

Turtlestar returned to his position on Highrock and looked down at them. "We would no longer be Thunderclan. Or Riverclan,or Shadowclan,or Windclan!" He looked down at the cats in front of him. "Do you think that with as much diversity in our group,I would still be able to keep the name Thunderclan attached to us? Because Thunderclan cats can't fish. We can't stalk prey like Shadows in the night,and we certainly can't outrun rabbits." He had everyone's attention now,and he had no intention of stopping. "But this new clan,Us,The survivors,We can do anything. We will sweep through the forest like a storm!"

_Like a Storm..._

It was only the faintest of Whispers,but Mudpelt caught it. In the back if the clearing,where no one could hear,Starclan whispered a final message in his ear.

_River,Shadow,Thunder, and Wind will rule the forest. They will sweep through it like a storm,and not even the rain shall stop them. But,Beware the Ice._

"...pelt...Mudpelt...Mudpelt!" He was jolted back to reality by Windpaw prodding him in the shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"Yes,Yes. I'm quite fine." He muttered,trying to clear his mind. A breeze blew by,carrying on it the final messages of the prophecy.

_Beware the Ice..._

"I will join." Silverwolf said,stepping forward.

"What are you doing?" Nightwhisper hissed.

"I'm ensuring the survival of Riverclan." He said,not even bothering to look down at his sister.

"Fine. I'll join too,if for no other reason than to keep you from killing yourself." Turtlestar nodded and looked around.

"Anyone else?" The two Shadowclan apprentices slunk toward the front,their dark pelts making them nearly invisible in the moonlight. "We're coming." The older one hissed,blocking the kit from the older cats,as if they might attack at any moment. "But only because Thistlepaw is hungry." he quickly added,standing next to Nightwhisper.

"We will come as well." Mudpelt said,ushering Windpaw to the front. He originally had no intent to join,but with the prophecy,or what he assumed to be a prophecy running through his mind,he had to.

Turtlestar nodded and dipped his head.

"I do believe we just witnessed the birth of Stormclan." Flameheart was the first one to take up the call. "Stormclan! Stormclan!" Soon enough the clearing was full of yowling cats, calling to any who could hear,screaming the name until their throats were sore.

"We will survive!"

**AN- **Okay,so. I just feel like this is really short. It was four pages on my computer and now...It just looks disappointing. Feel free to send me a character design of a Rouge or Kittypet,I might use it in the story. Black Sheep out~


End file.
